May 2017

Hi all,                                                                                                   May 2017

We had our ward conference this past weekend and was good but in ward council before the sacrament meeting we had some good instruction.
Many times we have a list of names they want to visit or have concerns. Some are visited but we never get through the list of 30-40 people!
So the stake president asked each auxiliary president to give him the name of the top 2 people they are concerned about the most. He said I know there may be 20 but just give me the top 2. So each one gave him 2 names. He wrote them on the board. Then asked to us to look.  We saw there were names of families on more than just one list. So primary kids and relief society had the same family. So they need to work together. Then focus our Attention on those families, or individuals. I was impressed that we try to help some and see what their needs really are instead of just visit them once a month. Any way I was impressed and hope we can do this. Like I said we have a list of 30-40 people listed and we never get around to talking about most of them. So hopefully this will help us focus on some and work together on helping them.

I am taking the finance self-reliance class and it is a great program. All the books and manuals are on SRS.LDS.org if you want to look at any of them. But so good to help people write down income and expenses. So many in the class say, I did not know I was spending that much on this or that. So it is good to see when money comes in and where we spend it.  We have about 12 people in our Thursday night class, but we also have 2 more finance classes on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Had a crazy Saturday. One of our missionaries is waiting here for his visa to go to a foreign mission. So we got notified he received his visa on Friday.
But it was afternoon Friday and he was flying out Sunday which is unusual also. Well He did not have his passport as he left it with the MTC or salt lake. And so I went into to the office and called salt lake travel and they did not have it. He was supposed to go to Dominican Republic but he will go to Puerto Rico since they do not require a passport to get in. But I was on the phone for a few hours trying to get him to the right place in time for his flight. The president was at a mission president’s conference. So quite a busy day. But he made it by to Puerto Rico on time and everything worked out. But crazy busy day.

            

Then Monday some sad news. Dad had put his bike on our bike rack so he could take it to get some adjustments done on it. Someone came and cut off the lock and stole his bike. We even had it backed into the covered parking space so they had to squeeze to get it. It had all his tools and pack for a tire change, co2 cartridges, spare tube, Allen wrenches, and a few other goodies! I know Jessica found her bike that was stolen on Craigslist. The not smart thief advertised it for sale. So many people need and ride bikes here so figured whoever took it needed a new bike. So he got a good one, only a few months old and probably no more than 50 miles on it. Oh well, not sure if we will get another replacement here.

                      

Sister Andrus the new referral secretary here has been having some back problems and has had a hard time sitting at the desk. So has gone home and few times this week to rest. Dad’s shoulder still hurts but went to a chiropractor yesterday so he said it feels better and he is doing some exercises for it so hope that helps. But we are doing well. Staying healthy and I am getting out walking in the mornings. Some pretty sun rises. We have the May Grey now. Early mornings we have a foggy morning coming in from the ocean, and clears off by mid-morning. But it is funny – it almost starts the very first day of May!! The sunrises are pretty but we are not by the ocean to see it over the water, we are more inland by our apt.

So Saturday we have Elder Christofferson coming to talk to the missionaries. He has someone else coming to speak with him but not sure who. He will also speak at the Camarillo stake conference the next day Sunday, so we may go to that also. So I ordered 9 six foot long sub sandwiches, and will get chips and cookies and bottled water for all 180 missionaries to have lunch after our meeting. So hopefully I can get them all picked up and set up at the church before the meeting starts, so I can listen and not worry about the kitchen or food.  But I am sure it will all work out.

I think I told you but at our last MLC – mission Leader Conference we had the pasta bar and they love it so much. We cook 3 kinds of pasta – spaghetti, penne and rotini. Then have 2 kinds of sauces – red spaghetti sauce and Alfredo sauce, also meatballs and chicken strips. We have a big lettuce salad and garlic toast and then had an Oreo ice cream dessert. Kind of like a layered lasagna.  Crushed Oreos, layer of ice cream, fudge, then cool whip and topped with crushed Oreos.  We cooked about 10 pounds of noodles and they ate almost every bite. No meat left and no dessert left either. So it was a good meal!

I am thinking of having scalloped potatoes and ham next week, but making them with hash browns. We have not had that yet so will see. One of the assistants is leaving this next transfer so I asked him if he had a favorite meal he wanted so have not heard back from him so the menu may change. Smile

WE have seen some great blessings while serving here. Jeff J. is coming out to church and stopped drinking. Now he quit smoking marijuana, and he is coming out to church regular and even received a calling to be the class president in our Sunday School class. Fred is our Gospel essentials teacher and he went to the Los Angeles temple last Saturday with us to do baptisms. So fun to see his excitement. Now I am going to help him learn how to research his own family names!! Yeah! He is so excited to get started. And so many others have found jobs so that makes us feel good that we have been able to help them.

This is Jeff. He got this super great job as a carpenter working for the union and great pay and then he went to work high or drunk and hit his finger and broke it. Thank goodness they will keep him on the job but he was scared that he may be fired for being drunk on the job. So he is off work now recovering. He had to have surgery on his hand to fix the broken finger. He smashed the bone so had to have pins to put it back together.

Fred is in the middle loving being at the temple with friends.

Love you all so much and miss giving you all hugs!!

Mom